The Black Fleet Crisis_ Before The Storm Part 15

"Which would mean that as many as twenty Star Destroyers could be very much closer to us than the Core. "

Drayson squinted at Ackbar. "Ordinarily, I'd expect the Empire to destroy any a.s.sets they couldn't take with them. "

"I would be happy to know that they had done so, " said Ackbar "But we haven't found any ruined shipyards in that area. Though that is not conclusive-there are large areas of Kokash and Farlax which have never been properly surveyed. Including the Morath Nebula and the Koornacht Cl.u.s.ter. "

"Ah, " said Drayson. "I see where this is leading. "

"Hiram, I don't want to know how you might know the answers. But I know you have resources not available outside your office. I am concerned by this business with Nil Spaan. Negotiations have been at a standstill for weeks, and yet Leia still urges patience. And I wonder to myself, could the Yevetha be hiding these ships for Daala? Is it possible the Duskhan League is still allied with the Core? "

After a moment's measured consideration, Drayson said, "I have no information to support such a thesis. Or to rule it out. "

"Then I am at a loss as to how to proceed, " Ackbar said. "The negotiations in progress make this a delicate matter. I cannot make accusations without evidence. Nor can I ignore a potential threat of this magnitude. "

"What would you do if the decision were yours? "

"I would begin a search for this Black Fleet, and not stop until we have found it, or its wreckage, and made certain it is not sitting on our doorstep. We must know the fate of these ships. "

Drayson nodded thoughtfully. "Then I think you should take Ayddar's information to Princess Leia, and make that recommendation. Perhaps she'll allow you to persuade her. "

"I fear otherwise, " said Ackbar. "Still, I can but try. "

"I wish you success. In the meantime--can you see your way to-" Ackbar pressed a datacard into Drayson's hand. "The list of the missing ships, and the mystery shipyards. "

Two other runners were in sight now and drawing nearer. With a perfectly practiced casualness, Drayson made the datacard disappear into a pocket. "I'll do what I can, " he said, and flashed a stage smile. "Nice seeing you again, Admiral. "

At the pace at which Drayson then struck out down the track, Ackbar doubted that any other runner would head him.

Chapter 8.

"Let me make sure I understand, " said Princess Leia, turning away from the broad windows of the executive conference room to face Admiral Ackbar and General A'baht. "No one has seen any of these vessels for ten years-and that's why you're worried about them? "

Ackbar and A'baht exchanged looks, negotiating who would answer.

"Essentially, that is correct-" said Ackbar, who lost.

"Why doesn't it sound as silly to you as it does to me? I believe you're worried about literally nothing. "

Ackbar cleared his throat. "Princess, you know the price of being wrong. It can be a fatal error to underestimate an enemy's strength, or the seriousness of a threat. Our own success against the Empire owed much to the Emperor's making exactly that error. "

"Better to take precautions that aren't needed than to fail to take them when they are, " A'baht said, almost to himself.

"No one is going to attack the New Republic, " Leia said flatly.

Both Ackbar and A'baht were taken aback by her p.r.o.nouncement. "If you're so sure of that, then let's mothball the Fleet and muster out the troops, " A'baht said scornfully. "I'm sure we all have better things we could be doing. "

"General, it's because of the Fleet that no one's going to attack us, " said Leia. "Ackbar tells me we can now call on more ships than fought on both sides in the largest battle of the Rebellion. Do I have that right, Admiral? "

Ackbar nodded silently.

"That's more than enough to b.l.o.o.d.y the nose of anyone who makes the mistake of taking a swing at us. And everyone out there knows it, " she said. "They have more to gain by joining us than they do by opposing us. Look at the Duskhan League-they clearly represent a first-order civilization, economically and technologically. What are they doing? They're here negotiating with us. "

The general remained undeterred. "To take your metaphor, Princess, one swing can both start and end a fight if it comes without warning. "

"Are we suddenly more vulnerable to surprise attack than we were a week ago? "

"No, Princess-"

"Then are you telling me that we've always been vulnerable to a surprise attack? "

"I'm telling you that there's more to being ready to defend yourself than posting sentries at the border, " said A'baht, a touch of impatience in his tone. "You must plan, and you must train, for the battle you don't want to fight, against the enemy you don't want to face, on the ground you don't want to defend. Then, and only then, do you have a credible deterrent. "

She turned quickly to face Ackbar. "And haven't you done that, Admiral? Haven't you seen to it that our forces are thoroughly trained and thoughtfully deployed? If not, I'm afraid I may have to fire you. "

"Yes, we have done those things, Princess-"

"Then will you explain to eneral A'baht-"

"-but there is more to consider, " Ackbar said forcefully. "If this Black Fleet exists, and if it is operational, it represents a secret weapon. And it is the nature of secret weapons to upset all the careful planning of one's adversaries. Indeed, Princess, that is their purpose. "

Leia looked down and studied the list displayed on her datapad, then shook her head. "Do these ships really represent a threat on that scale? "

"Yes, " A'baht said firmly. "The Empire's standard Sector Group strength was only twenty-four Star Destroyers. They were able to exercise control over an entire system with a single Imperial-cla.s.s ship. They were able to overwhelm anything up to a Cla.s.s Four planetary defense with one-third of a Sector Group. "

Closing her datapad, Leia studied A'baht next.

"But those were the Empire's best, and fully equipped with the Empire's best. When a capital warship is in the yards, does the crew ordinarily stay aboard? "

"No, of course not. "

"What about the troops, the fighters? Are they kept aboard? "

"I suspect the Princess knows better, " said A'baht.

"When a ship is laid up for any significant time, its complement would normally be rea.s.signed. "

"So-let's say that all of these ships fell into other hands when the Empire withdrew. They'd be empty sh.e.l.ls. They won't have six TIE squadrons aboard. They won't have a division of stormtroopers. They won't have a.s.sault gunboats. They won't have an army of ATATs. "

A'baht was unmoved. "The Princess is grasping at straws, " he said.

"The greatest threat in this situation is that those ships never left Imperial hands, or that region of s.p.a.ce. "

"They couldn't have been on continuous deployment for ten years, " Leia protested.

"No, " said Ackbar. "But there are more than two hundred inhabited worlds in Hatawa and Farlax, many of which we still know little about. Some may still be friends with our enemies. And there is still the matter of the five unknown shipyards used by the Black Sword Command. No matter who owns them, I would like to know what has come off the ways in those ten years. "

Pressed from both sides, by one she knew and trusted and by another she did not know but respected, Leia relented. "I really don't need this right now, " she said, sighing. 'What exactly are you recommending? "

"Princess, the Fifth Fleet is about to sail on its show-the-flag excursion, " said A'baht. "I would suggest to you that searching for the Black Fleet would be a better use of those ships. "

"You want to take the entire Fifth into Hatawa and Farlax? "

"I would not want to find the Black Fleet with anything less at my command Princess. "

You realize, of course, that the Koornacht Cl.u.s.ter is in Farlax. "

Ackbar nodded. "Yes--of course. "

"Then you realize that you'll have to exempt Koornacht from any search. Nil Spaar has been adamant about territorial integrity, " she said. "Their claim extends to the entire cl.u.s.ter. He hasn't even agreed to grant emergency landing or pa.s.s-through rights yet. Any intrusion by Republic warships, no matter what the mission, is completely unacceptable to him and to me. "

Once again Ackbar and A'baht exchanged glances.

This time A'baht lost. "Princess, perhaps you can explain to me the logic in starting a search and announcing a safe hiding place at the same time. "

"Ackbar said there're over two hundred inhabited worlds in that region, " Leia said. "That should give you enough to keep you busy until I've reached an agreement with the Yevetha. "

"Koornacht is centrally located, and the Yevetha are technologically adept, " said A'baht. "It's a likely location for at least one of the shipyards. "

"The Yevetha hate the Empire as much as anyone, " said Leia. "They ran them out of Koornacht at the first opportunity. You can be sure there are no secret weapons hidden there. "

"Perhaps. And perhaps Nil Spaar will view the missing vessels with more alarm than you have, " said A'baht. "Why not ask him for permission for my ships to search the Cl.u.s.ter for the Black Fleet? Make him say no for himself. "

"You obviously don't understand the situation with the Yevetha, or you would never make such a request, " Leia said sharply. "Admiral Ackbar, I know you understand. "

"I understand your reluctance, and I understand General A'baht's concern, " said Ackbar. "Given that, as you say, the Yevetha are no friends of the Empire, I would like to see the question put before the viceroy. He could surprise you. "

"No, " said Leia with a shake of her head. "The question alone is a threat. The presence of warships would be an open provocation. He could never agree to such a thing. "

A'baht pressed her again. "Let him say so. Put the question before him, as the admiral suggests. "

"No, " Leia said firmly. "Don't ask me again. General, you may take the Fifth into Hatawa and Farlax to search for Nylykerka's phantoms. You will respect the boundaries a.s.serted by the Duskhan League, and not enter the Koornacht Cl.u.s.ter without explicit permission from me. Is that understood? "

A'baht rose from his seat and made himself tall. "I understand, " he said. "Please excuse me, Princess. I have a great deal to see to. "

"Good day, General. "

He saluted smartly and was gone.

"I want your word, too, Admiral, " Leia said, turning to Ackbar. "I won't have all my efforts with Nil Spaar compromised. I've worked very hard to earn his trust. I don't intend to lose it because some junior intelligence a.n.a.lyst couldn't get his lists to agree. "

"You are Chief of State, and my superior, " said Ackbar, standing. "You do not need my word, but I give it to you-your orders will be obeyed. But I cannot give you my approval. I believe you've wrongly placed a lesser matter above a greater one. "

"Curious-that's exactly how I felt listening to you and General A'baht, " Leia said. "I considered it quite a concession on my part to agree to send the Fifth into those sectors at all. You might try to appreciate that a little more, and lecture me a little less. "

"Han, darling? "

Han's face was buried in a pillow, and his answer was m.u.f.fled.

"Um-what? "

"I'm thinking something I don't like thinking. "

Rolling over, Han made as polite a show of interest as he could manage half asleep. "What's that? "

"These aren't negotiations anymore. With Nil Spaar. All they are is conversations. "

"What do you mean? "

Leia sat up in bed. "In the beginning, I thought what I had to do was learn enough about them to find something they wanted-wanted enough to make them reconsider their position. "

"You can't bargain with a man who doesn't want to buy, " Han said.

"No, " said Leia. "You're right about that. The viceroy was sent here to preserve the status quo. No trade, no cultural exchange, no technical or scientific information access, mutual agreement on borders and territories, strict border controls. To the Yevetha, only the status quo is acceptable-and the status quo is isolationism. "

"Well-that's their choice, isn't it? "

"But I want to bring N'zoth and Coruscant closer together. This could be the most important alliance of the last ten years-or the next fifty. "

"There's always someone who doesn't want to join the club, " said Han. "Sometimes to be contrary. Sometimes because they like not having to answer to anyone, follow anyone elSe's rules. Independence is worth something, Leia. I knew a man on the Praff runs, name of-oh, blast, what was his name?

-Hatirma Havighasu. He always worked alone. Said cooperation was for cowards. "

"How did that work for him? "

"Well he couldn't take the big jobs, of course. Or the ones where you've got to have someone to watch your back. But he was still alive when I moved on. I imagine he probably still is, tough as he was. "

Leia sighed. "Maybe that's it, " she said. "Maybe the way the Yevetha see themselves, they have to be standing alone, owing no one anything. The viceroy hasn't given me a single concrete reason to hope for an agreement on any terms but his-except for the fact that he comes back day after day. "

"Then why continue? " Han said, propping him self up on his elbows so he could see her better in the dimly lit room. "It's been eating up your time and stealing your energy for two months now. "

"Because Nil Spaar's not like that, " said Leia. "He's reasonable, even though the League isn't ready to be. He's even friendly at times, even though the League doesn't want to be. Right now, the only thread that connects the League and the Republic is our personal relationship. "

"Pretty thin thread, isn't it? "

"I don't think so. The viceroy is more open-minded than whoever wrote his orders. I have a very clear sense that he wants me to succeed-he's trying to give me time. He hopes I'll find a way to bring us together. "

"Are you sure you're not just trying one more time to win your argument with Luke? "

"What do you mean? "

"If the Yevetha want to hide away out there like so many hermits, I'm not sure why they should care how we feel about it, " Han said, shrugging. "Unless you're thinking about twisting arms. Which you probably could, this time. "

"I'm not thinking about any such thing, " Leia said tersely. "Haven't you been listening? "